Tim Holden goes negative, Cartwright hits back

Congressman Tim Holden put a poll in the field last week that has apparently shown he is in real trouble. I haven't seen the numbers but judging by the reaction of the Holden camp they have gone into panic pass mode.

Hired gun Campaign Manager Joe Trippi who's claim to fame was the 2004 Howard Dean Presidential campaign has put out one of the most dishonest ads I've seen tying Cartwright to the juvie brothers scandal because he gave some money to Callahan and Ciavarella years before the 'kids for cash scandal' broke. It's interesting that the successor group of the Dean campaign, Democracy for America, has endorsed Cartwright.

Joe has to make a living and this line of attack helped Stefanie Salavantis become the Luzerne County District Attorney so he has some good local researchers. We will see how that works out.
So Cartwright gave $1375 to Ciavarella's retention effort just like many other lawyers which raises the question should judge's be elected or appointed after a vetting process. Judges on Merit has more to say on this subject. Conahan may not have been selected after a background check.


Instead of what is going out we should take a look at what is coming in.

DWT has a summery:

Holden, a Blue Dog has taken $688,999 from the finance industry and $414,997 from Big Oil and Gas. Holden has taken even more money from AgriBusiness and he's scooping up checks like mad this year to fight off his first serious electoral challenge ever. [One of the company's eager to keep Holden in Congress is AT&T, which has given House Republicans $896,121 thisyear and House Democrats $443,750. $5,000 of that went to Holden.

The Pennsylvania Progressive tells us about Holden's voting record:

He did not vote for the Affordable Care Act, voted against organized labor, for wars and their funding, for the National Defense Authorization Act, for the PATRIOT Act, FISA wiretapping and against homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure.

A Statement from the Cartwright campaign calls Holden a liar:

Holden Barely Holding On
Desperate TV Ad Not Just A Distortion - It’s 180° from Truth



MOOSIC, PA – With three weeks left until the April 24th Primary Election, Tim Holden has resorted to mud slinging. Perhaps the poll he conducted last week showed poor numbers, and he acted out of desperation. One thing is for sure, however, he forgot to do his homework.
Holden’s TV ad attempts to link Matt Cartwright with the notorious “Kids for Cash” scandal that plagued Luzerne County back in 2008, by citing old campaign contributions from the Munley, Munley and Cartwright law firm to the judges involved. (The firm has supported dozens of Democrats in the past 25 years.) But Holden’s “guilt by old association” tactic was done without knowing enough about the county or Matt Cartwright.
In the wake of the scandal, Matt Cartwright spearheaded the Juvenile Defense Lawyer Project in Luzerne County to ensure that juveniles were treated fairly by the courts and judges. In fact, in a Times-Leader article on June 11, 2010, Cartwright was “recognized for his leadership of the Juvenile Pro Bono Defense Program, which was created to guarantee pro bono counsel for juveniles that had been adjudicated by former President Judge Mark Ciavarella in the event their cases were retried.”
If anything, Matt Cartwright was a hero in cleaning up the criminal mess that these judges created.
“Tim Holden spent the past 20 years in Washington, and this is what he decided to talk about,” said Cartwright. “Of course, it is not surprising that Holden does not want to discuss the facts that he voted to create the Halliburton Loophole and against Health Care Reform. Further, in 2001 and in 2002 he voted with President George W. Bush more than any other Democratic member of Pennsylvania’s Congressional Delegation.”
Matt Cartwright is a Democrat, running for Congress in the 17th Congressional District, which now includes parts of Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe and Northampton Counties, as well as all of Schuylkill County. Cartwright is running for Congress to bring jobs to Northeast Pennsylvania, and make sure that corporations and wealthy Americans pay their fair share of taxes.
http://www.cartwrightcongress.com/
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR